Senator Claire McCaskill and Post-Election 2014 Democrats

Whenever I’ve written about Claire McCaskill, I’ve always described her as a neoliberal. The purpose of her posturing on today’s Face the Nation is a reminder to her base of mostly white conservative liberals or ex-moderate Republicans, not to lump her in with a possibly rising progressive tide in the Senate.

Anyone who is looking at the Democratic landscape over the next two years should remember this interview by McCaskill’s as only one instance of a neoliberal Democrat staking out territory. Our party has a LOT of neoliberal Democrats at the moment, and few, if any, will willingly cede any ground to fellow Democrats on the left, no matter the polling or what the election results really mean.

This posturing of hers ahead of a likely run for governor doesn’t bode well for her less well-to-do constituents, especially if she ends up breaking with Democrats to vote with Mitch McConnell from here on out.

She’s right about one thing, though, “… [the 2014 election] was a message from the American people.” What she isn’t right about, however, is that message’ interpretation.

McCaskill, given the state of Missouri race relations at the moment and what she is said to have done behind the scenes, brings very little hope for improvement in the intermediate term. It’ll be a good thing when Jay Nixon finally leaves office. A replacement of Nixon by McCaskill will only mean more of the same, or worse.

I’ve seen several pieces of reporting on McCaskill and her behind the scenes involvement in attempting to get the DOJ to halt its investigation in Ferguson. With Dems like that…

Sen. Claire McCaskill Distances Herself From Obama, Senate Democrats

Christina Wilkie
November 16, 2014

WASHINGTON — Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill reiterated on Sunday that she is unhappy with both the leader of her party in the Senate and with President Barack Obama’s plan to take unilateral action on immigration reform. McCaskill’s tone will likely help fuel speculation that she is considering a bid for governor of Missouri, a traditionally Republican-leaning state, in 2016.

Appearing on CBS “Face the Nation,” McCaskill was asked about Obama’s plan to use executive action in order to defer the deportation of certain undocumented immigrants. “I’m not crazy about it,” she said, before shifting her criticism to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) over his refusal to take up an immigration reform bill in the House that was passed by the Senate.

McCaskill also discussed why she did not vote for Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to be the Senate Minority Leader once the majority passes to Republicans in January. “I think [the 2014 election] was a message from the American people,” she said. “Our party got walloped, and I think they’re saying we need to change what we’re doing.”

When asked about Reid’s decision to create a special role for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) within the leadership ranks, McCaskill again refused to praise Reid. Instead, she reminded host Bob Schieffer that Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a more moderate senator, was also elected to the Democratic leadership on the same day.

While McCaskill’s comments don’t reflect nearly the ire that Republicans reserve for both Reid’s leadership and Obama’s immigration strategy, they were nonetheless unusual for a Democratic senator on a Sunday talk show.

Are Missouri Dems Pushing the DOJ to End Michael Brown Investigation?

Questions have been raised in Ferguson, Mo., about the role of that state’s senior U.S. senator: Did either Sen. Claire McCaskill or her staff communicate to the Department of Justice that it should end its Ferguson investigation after the local grand jury ends its own?

It’s been widely speculated that the St. Louis County grand jury—empaneled by police-connected St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch—will not indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in connection with the Aug. 9 shooting death of a black teenager, 18-year-old Michael Brown.

And now multiple sources tell The Root that a small coterie of elected officials—mostly white Democrats—in Greater St. Louis have been working behind the scenes to bring the controversy surrounding Brown’s killing by Wilson to a quiet end.

According to sources, the effort escalated during the past week after a series of one-sided leaks, favorable to Wilson’s version of events on Aug. 9, appeared in the press.

This week, sources said that McCaskill’s office pushed the Department of Justice to end its investigation after the grand jury’s decision, which, they said, could be announced as early as next week. Ultimately, the DOJ investigation could determine whether or not Wilson violated Brown’s civil rights.

“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Senator McCaskill’s office has pushed the Department of Justice to declare an end to the DOJ investigation if a decision of no-indictment is issued by the grand jury,” a high-ranking government official told The Root.